“Space is big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it’s a long way down the road to the shop, but that’s just peanuts to space.”
― adapted from Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Introduction
Voyager 1: The NASA spacecraft, which rose from Earth on a September morning in 1977, has traveled farther than anyone, or anything, in history. What does its journey tell us about the Solar System.
“NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft officially is the first human-made object to venture into interstellar space. The 36-year-old probe is about 12 billion miles (19 billion kilometres) from our sun. Now that we have new, key data, we believe this is mankind’s historic leap into interstellar space. Voyager has boldly gone where no probe has gone before, marking one of the most significant technological achievements in the annals of the history of science, and adding a new chapter in human scientific dreams and endeavours,” said John Grunsfeld, NASA’s associate administrator for science in Washington. “Perhaps some future deep space explorers will catch up with Voyager, our first interstellar envoy, and reflect on how this intrepid spacecraft helped enable their journey.”
(Extract from a NASA press release, September 12th, 2013)
So how big is the solar system.
A Tour of Our Solar System
Earth and the Solar System Vocab List.docx
Task
You are going to produce an audio tour of the Solar System for Virgin Galactic, a company that are already taking bookings for flights to space. They only plan to go into orbit around the earth at the moment but you never know what could happen in the future.
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| Click on the image to find out more and book your place in space. |
1) Research:
To make sure you have all the information you need, complete the planetary fact sheet using the links from the images below and other sources you may find.
2) The Script:
Now you have the information you need to prepare your script. Before you start, have a listen to this audio tour of Berlin. You can skip through it but pay attention to the way it begins and how each location is described. You are going to copy this structure.
Use the audio guide template to compile the information you are going to include in your tour. As you work through this, think about what you will actually say when you record it.
Solar System Audio Guide Template.docx
3) The Recording:
Once you have completed the template you should record your tour. Make it interesting and engaging.
The easiest way to record your tour is on a phone or tablet as a voice memo. Once you are happy with your recording, email it to me.
Assessment:
This is an assessed piece of work. It will make up the oral part of your grade for this semester.
You will be assessed using the rubric below. Read through the rubric and use it as a guide to completing the assessment.
Audio guide rubric.xls
Hand in deadline:
Gym 1: Wednesday 27th September
Int 1: Friday 20th October. (As International 1 only have one lesson of geography a week, they are given more time to complete the assignment.)
Hand in Requirements:
Students should send a digital copy of their audio guide to mrbgeography22atgmail.com
The email subject should be (student name) solar system audio guide and be in my inbox before the start of the lesson.
Paper copies of the Planetary Fact Sheet, the Audio Guide Template and any other planning documents should be handed to me at the beginning of the lesson on hand in day. Make sure all pages have your name and class clearly marked on them.
The Sun
Task: Solar Poster
Create a poster about the sun. Below is an example of a good poster. Look at how text and images are used and the posters layout. Try to create something similar. You can produce your poster by hand or using power point or another piece of software.
You should try to include the following information. Be concise with your text and use images wherever possible.
Everyones poster should include this information
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The sun is a star.
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The structure of the sun.
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The suns relative size to earth.
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The importance of the sun to life on earth
You may also wish to include these ;
- Some information on the workings of the sun.
- Solar Storms and the Aurora
Solar Storms Sending Biggest Threats to Earth Today and Tomorrow
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| What Causes the Northern Lights |
Extension:
Wonders of the Solar System: Empire of the Sun by silichip